Miraculous: A Tale of Two Brothers
by Mr. Spinner
Summary: When Gabriel Agreste comes to terms with the truth about his son, other truths are brought to light. Using this frightening truth, Gabriel must fight the demons of his past in order to begin healing his present. And, perhaps, even to ease his son's future. What will he do to make things right? And what will be the cost? Post-Jackaday AU. One-shot.


**I am very much aware of the pervasive fan theory that Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth. I, however, hope this is not the case. The whole "the bad guy is the good guy's parent" thing has been overdone so much it's almost expected now. Besides, where others see "Jackaday/Simon Says" as evidence to the yea, I see it as evidence to the contrary. Hawk Moth is too "above others" to use himself as bait for an akuma that he created. Plus, unless teleportation is part of the Butterfly Miraculous, the timeline makes no sense.**

 **In consequence, I have developed a possibility (a very unlikely one) for all of you to enjoy. I present ...!**

 **Miraculous: A Tale of Two Brothers**

Secluded in his office, the doors locked and the windows shaded, the world-famous designer Gabriel Agreste considered the evidence before him. Scattered around his desk were numerous drawings and sketches, some fabricated and others based on very-real images.

Several on his left were hand-made copies of the drawings within the Codex Mirabilis, the ancient tome of lore that had rather recently gone missing from the vault hidden at his left. While Gabriel had been unable to decode the tome, what with its magical protection penetrable only by two specific artifacts and the one in his vault unwilling to cooperate, he had been able to study the illustrations. As many suspected, Gabriel possessed an eidetic memory; it was what had allowed him to triple major in design, business, and technology in University. He could see the illustrations before his mind's eye with perfect clarity, but it always helped to see something tangible.

Other sketches at his right were of the various akuma-villains that had plagued Paris within the past eight months, their images captured forever on news cameras, within security footage, and on the ever-expanding internet. Many had similarities in their designs, such as butterfly-shaped masks. Most were also paired-up with photos or sketches of the victims themselves.

And in the middle, squarely in his view, was an illustration of the Black Cat Ring, paired with a detailed sketch of the white-silver ring his son had recently begun wearing. A photo of the hero Chat Noir rested next to these sketches, a photo of his own son, Adrien, sitting next to it. This was the crux of one of the two mysteries he desperately needed an answer to.

Gabriel steeled himself and began to methodically examine each photo, focusing specifically on the details of each. His hand moved with a will of its own, writing out features in twin columns that corresponded to each. Blond hair, green eyes, sun-kissed skin - similar height, build, facial structure - even identical teeth.

As he examined and recorded, Gabriel felt a headache building behind his eyes, pressure forming behind his temples; as if the images before him were fighting him off. Finally, when the pressure spiked and he could no longer take it, he looked away with a pained sigh, breathing heavily as if he had just run a marathon. Gabriel cleared his throat and took out a handkerchief to wipe his nose, revealing a faint spot of crimson on the white fabric. Damned glamour, he thought.

As his heart rate returned to normal, Gabriel examined the dual lists he had written. The lists were identical. His gaze flicked to the sketches of the two rings. Color aside (he knew that Miraculouses changed color when they were inhabited) they were just as identical in shape as Adrien and Chat Noir. And that, more than anything, confirmed the truth.

His son was Chat Noir.

Gabriel bit back a cry of pain as he felt something around him shatter, the supernatural disguise that emanated from Miraculouses snapping like a wrought-iron chain. He looked to the photos again … and he could see it! It was, now, so blindingly obvious that they were one and the same!

Gabriel stood and paced in front of his desk, the implications of what he had just done (both the confirmation of his theory and that he had beaten the Miraculous's magical protection) settling down on him. Ever the analyst, he tried to determine the full consequences of his son's identity.

Clearly he had been Chosen by the Guardian. Gabriel sighed at the thought of the old man he had never actually seen, who had only been described to him. As much as Gabriel was loathe to trust anyone, she had trusted the Guardian, this "Master Fu", and so that gave him the barest credit in the renowned designer's book.

And to be fair, it seemed the choice had been more than adequate. Gabriel returned to his desk and opened a video file of Ladybug and Chat Noir's battles, compiled from news and surveillance footage. He watched his son do battle against these so-called super villains and, with the aide of Ladybug, always come out the victor. As much as it tore at Gabriel's heart to see his son in danger, he couldn't deny that the boy was perfect for the job.

Gabriel exited the video and pulled up another, one that was key to his second dilemma. Before the Eiffel Tower, on the enhanced footage from a police video he had personally hacked from their database, rose a massive swarm of purple-black butterflies that formed itself into the vague shape of a human face.

"People of Paris, listen carefully. I am Hawk Moth!" The headache from before began to return as that voice tickled at his memory. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, give me the Ladybug Earrings and the Cat Ring now! You've done enough damage to these innocent people!" The video continued through Ladybug's admittedly impressive impromptu speech and her attack against the figure, its rage-filled cry echoing in his ear drums.

Gabriel cut off the video, panting as the headache grew worse and then slowly began to recede. He swallowed the bile that had risen to the back of his tongue and considered something that few men as rational as him would: the dramatic irony that surrounded his theory.

Because of his emphasis on reason, few knew that Gabriel was a believer in the supernatural. His family had been lightly dabbling in it for generations before him. And then there was her. But what few would ever even consider was that Gabriel Agreste believed in one of the most intangible concepts ever devised: destiny. He had come to believe when he met the woman who would become his wife, and even in recent years that belief had never wavered.

And with that belief, Gabriel often saw the connections between people that few could bring themselves to even consider. Soulmates that danced around each other, never separating as their hearts remained linked. The grudges between friends-turned-enemies that could crack the world with their hate. Children who had never met their parents, and yet still served as echoes to them in appearance and temperament. He had seen it all, and it only fueled his second theory.

The irony behind this would be far too great. It was so insane that it had to be true. Gabriel clenched his fists resting on the desk as he determined, in his heart, who this Hawk Moth really was.

Gabriel turned with stiff shoulders and swung back the painting of his wife before accessing his hidden safe. He briefly observed the place where the Codex Mirabilis had sat before focusing on the task at hand. He removed a single artifact before closing the safe and portrait.

In the palm of his hand, Gabriel held a peacock-themed pin that glistened in the light of his study. It had refused to help him before and he couldn't bring himself to force it. Gabriel focused his thoughts and directed them at the pin, whispering an incantation in Mandarin under his breath. "Hudie," he finished. Butterfly.

The pin began to faintly glow, thinly linked to his mind. "Listen well. You will meet me at sunset where this all began. And we can finally end it." The pin returned to normal as he released the tenuous link with a faint sigh.

He knew Hawk Moth got the message. Whether he was transformed or not, the kwami at least would know. Gabriel's watch beeped as it reached the midnight hour. Nineteen hours until the next sunset. Gabriel released a shuddering breath.

Nineteen hours.

* * *

The next evening, as the sun finished its descent below the horizon, Gabriel reflected on the place where he stood. This old apartment building had once been cheap and rundown, a place for the poor. It was the place where his long-deceased mother had tucked him into bed as a boy, where his even longer-since-dead father urged him to be someone one day.

Gabriel had purchased the building years ago and redesigned it into a home for artists and the like to live cheaply as they got their start, the same service it had provided him. But one apartment, the one that had belonged to his parents, he kept the same.

Gabriel's thoughts were interrupted by the fluttering of a swarm of snow-white butterflies that congregated above him, glowing like fire in the light of the sunset. The swarm descended and and writhed before scattering, revealing a man his own height dressed a purple dress shirt with a butterfly-like lapel, black slacks and shoes, silver gloves, and a silvery mask that only revealed his eyes and mouth.

Hawk Moth's smirk faded into a look of disgust as he observed the designer. "So you figured it out." That voice resonated in Gabriel's mind, his consciousness trying to pierce the veil that stubbornly fought to resist his revelation.

"It took some time," Gabriel admitted, "but yes. I did." Hawk Moth's grip tightened on his cane, his lips set in a thin, familiar line. And just like the night before, everything came together. The glamour's effects on him broke away like a pane of glass, revealing a man Gabriel had once known better than anyone.

"Alastair," Gabriel said evenly.

"It's Hawk Moth, now," the masked man retorted with some heat. Gabriel huffed in annoyance.

"It doesn't matter what you call yourself. You are who you are." Gabriel forced back the sudden memory of the last time had had said those words, on this very rooftop. "Now, drop that ridiculous disguise and face me like a man." For a long moment, it seemed he would refuse. And then the transformation dropped in a wave of purple light.

In place of Hawk Moth stood a man dressed much like Gabriel, a well-made suit and cravat. But in contrast to Gabriel's white suit, silver vest, and red cravat, this man wore a black suit with a golden vest and green cravat. A perfect reverse in color, as if he were mocking Gabriel.

But what struck the designer was the man's face. Aside from short-cut dirty blond hair, blue eyes rather than grey, and a longer, pointed nose, he could almost have passed for Gabriel's reflection!

"Hello … brother," Gabriel whispered.

* * *

Both men simply stood there, hands behind their backs in identical poses. Gabriel fought to quell the trembling in his hands, his expression rigidly schooled into cool ambivalence. Alistair held no such reservations, his demeanor a wall of barely-suppressed fury.

"What do you want, Gabriel?" Alastair asked shortly. The self-christened super villain had better things to do than reminisce with a part of his past he would be all-too-happy to forget. Or to erase.

"To ask you to stop what you are doing," Gabriel replied coldly. "Alastair, this madness cannot continue. You have striven for the yin and yang for months with nothing to show for it. And that's not to mention abusing a Miraculous in such a way. Imagine what she would say-"

"Do not speak of her!" Alastair shouted, his face reddening "You've given up! You didn't deserve her; you have no right to use her against me!"

"I have the only right!" Gabriel spat, his normally even temper rising. "Carissa was my wife!" And like a strike of lightning, Gabriel realized what Hawk Moth's plan was. "You're planning to use the legend. To use the ultimate power to return her. To …" his hands tightened into fists, "to enslave her."

"No," Alistair replied harshly. "To help her; help her realize the mistake she made when she chose you!"

* * *

Flashback

* * *

"Would you stop fidgeting, already?" a younger Gabriel Agreste asked with a slight grin. He eyed his twin brother, just a little surprised by the usually confident young man's nervous twitching.

"I have the right to fidget, L," Alastair replied grumpily, using the nickname he had always used for his technically-older brother. He straightened his jacket for the thousandth time and moved on to his cufflinks, adjusting those for only the five-hundredth time.

"Come now, Al. She can't be that pretty," Gabriel teased. Then again, Alastair had always had high standards when it came to women, so perhaps this actually meant something? Alastair glowered at his brother before going back to searching the crowds for this mystery woman.

"You only say that because you haven't met her," he groused, his lips twitching with a faint grin before fading back to a nervous frown. Gabriel scoffed and returned to the sketch pad he had brought along. Alastair may be fine with pursuing medical school (therapeutic psychology, he had last announced) but Gabriel had bigger more personal aspirations. And running his own fashion line meant no more real freetime.

Gabriel enjoyed a good ten minutes worth of relative quiet, watching the crowds as they passed and trying to well up inspiration from the people who passed by. His concentration was shattered at the sound of his brother gasping. Gabriel grinned and glanced at his brother before following his line of sight.

Gabriel actually stood up in shock at the woman approaching them. The very first thought that entered his head, as cheesy and cliched as he would later realize, was that angels were real - one was walking the streets of Paris. The woman smiled as she approached and embraced Alastair with a soft laugh.

"Carissa," Alastair greeted, his cheeks pink, "allow me to introduce my older brother, Gabriel Agreste."

"So you're the famous Gabriel," Carissa said, in a voice too lovely for mortal ears. "Ally here has told me so much about you." Gabriel chuckled, a rare occurrence, at her nickname for his brother.

"All good things I hope," Gabriel replied smoothly.

"Absolutely," she assured. "In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was trying to set us up." Her laugh showed that it was a joke, but Gabriel couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if that were true …

Little did Gabriel realize that this was the beginning of the end.

* * *

It had been six months since Alastair had first introduced them when Gabriel escorted Carissa home from dinner. Though they had been introduced as friends, the pair had quickly become close over a mutual love of design. Gabriel had been quite taken with Carissa's collection of paintings when he first saw her house some weeks ago. In turn, Carissa had gushed over his clothing designs, dropping words like "inspired" and "brilliant" that had made him blush for the first time in years.

As they walked the streets of Paris, Gabriel found himself, for the umpteenth time, admiring his companion. Carissa wore a royal-blue off-the-shoulder dress, accentuated by fern-green leggings, with a modest gold necklace and earrings. The outfit was simple yet stylish, and more to the point it accentuated the gorgeous woman before him.

In the half-year that he had known her, Gabriel was willing to admit that he had fallen - hard - for Carissa. Yes, she was lovely, but that was only a small part of it. She was kind, compassionate, charming, witty … if he kept going he would list things until the next sunrise. He finally settled on a phrase that was truer than any other - Carissa was beautiful, inside and out.

Finally, they made it to the flat that she shared with a roommate. Carissa turned to him with a soft smile and those soft, vibrant green eyes that made Gabriel melt underneath his cool facade. "Thank you for doing this, Gabriel," she said, "I had a wonderful time."

"As did I," Gabriel replied with a faint smile of his own. Carissa's cheeks pinked as she pushed a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

"Gabriel, about your idea earlier …" she said. Gabriel's insides went cold. Damnit, why had he asked that? He had partly been joking when he had asked her to model his clothing line, but the other part had been quite serious. Aside from the fact that she would do wonderfully, he had just wanted an excuse to see her.

"... I'd love too," she finished with a soft grin. Gabriel had to wait a moment for his brain to reboot.

"You would?" he asked, voice quivering with nerves. Carissa nodded in assent, but the twinkle in her eyes spoke of mischief.

"But I have to ask … did you only want to see more of me?" Gabriel blushed at the (admittedly true) accusation and stammered (since when did Gabriel Agreste stammer?!) out a response that even he didn't understand, but was cut off by her giggles and a hand taking his own.

"Relax, Gabriel," she soothed, "I understand."

"You do?" he asked, hope and fear warring in his heart. Carissa slowly leaned forward, Gabriel unconsciously doing the same, until they were a hair's-breadth apart.

"I do …" she whispered, and closed the gap.

Gabriel felt warmth, true warmth, flood his body as she kissed him. It was a matter of time before a placed his hands on her waist and deepened the kiss, even as she placed her hands behind his neck and pulled him closer.

* * *

Alastair watched, a bouquet of lilies clutched in his fist, as Carissa, the love of his life, kissed his older brother. As he watched on in horror, he felt pain like a searing knife lance through his chest. He dropped the lilies and backed away, tears pooling in his eyes. Finally, when the pain became too much, he turned and ran.

* * *

An hour later, Gabriel slowly opened the door to the roof of his home's apartment building, concern burning in his heart. He and Alastair's parents had been dead for two and five years respectively. Their only inheritance had been the apartment that they now shared and everything in it. When he had returned, Alastair had not been anywhere in the apartment. The rooftop was the only place that he would be.

This rooftop was where they came to think.

Gabriel's intuition was rewarded by the sight of his brother facing the edge of the roof. The soon-to-be designer's eyebrow rose in confusion at the sight of his clearly-tense brother, his posture looming over the waist-high concrete parapet. Whether it was the connection between twins or simple insight, Gabriel was sure that something was very wrong.

"Al?" Gabriel asked gently.

"How could you?" Alastair asked quietly. Gabriel kept his expression neutral even as his insides squirmed with guilt. He was fairly certain, but just to be sure …

"How could I what?" he asked cautiously. Gabriel flinched as Alastair struck a potted plant off the parapet to shatter against the rooftop.

"Don't play games with me, Gabriel!" Alastair demanded. "An hour ago I was on my way to visit Carissa. I was going to ask her out to dinner tomorrow night. But what did I see?" He laughed bitterly, his smile pained. "I saw my older brother, the man who agreed to help me win her heart, kissing her!" The scowl was back, his eyes burning like a madman. "How could you do this to me?!"

Gabriel sighed, his guilt rising before being smothered by the memory of that kiss. By the warmth and love that had been shared with that kiss. "I am sorry for that, Alastair. Truly, I am." He looked up to meet his brother's burning gaze. "But I am certain she would have declined such an offer." Best to be direct, right?

Alastair stepped back, bumping against the parapet, in his shock. Emotions warred across his features, none of them good. Eventually, after a few long moments, fury and denial won out. "That's not true," he accused. And the sheer, intense resolve of those words would have made anyone else believe it. But Gabriel, in his heart, knew the truth.

"Alastair, you can go to her if you want, but I beg you not to. Please, I don't want to see you get hurt!"

"Really?!" Alastair demanded. "You don't want to hurt me? It's a little late for that, isn't it, brother?" he spat. The words were like knives in Gabriel's chest. "I came to you for help and you stabbed me in the back! You, the one who always said it was us against the world, you have betrayed me!" Okay, now he was more frustrated than guilty.

"I am who I am, Alastair," he cut in. "Just as you are who you are. What was I to do? Was I supposed to watch and wait for you to work up the courage to ask her out? Was I to feel my heart being torn from my chest as she rejected you? Or was I supposed to grow old and alone as I watched you both live happily together?!" Gabriel's tone was rising as feelings he hadn't even known were there bubbled up and took definite shape. "At least I took a chance! And Carissa has chosen me!"

Denial still shone in Alastair's eyes, but at least he had stopped shouting. A single hot tear ran down his cheek, down to his furious grimace, before he stormed past Gabriel and into the building. Gabriel took a deep breath and sighed. There were so many ways he could have handled that better. But he knew he was right; Alastair would just have to accept it. Maybe he would talk to Carissa and she could show him sense. That was their only option.

They never got the chance. Alastair's things were gone the next morning.

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Gabriel tried to bite back the rage that welled within him at Alastair's accusation. "I was the wrong choice?!" he shouted, his self-control shattering. "You're the one tearing apart the city every other day, corrupting everything that Carissa stood for! You're the one so blinded by hate that you would abuse a kwami! You are the one who can't let go of the past!"

"You're right - I am the one," Alastair spat. "I am the one who loved her first, the one who would have supported her real dreams, the one who would have protected her from her fate!" Alastair was roaring now, years of hateful rage, inspired only as a family member could, finally breaking free.

"I trusted you, brother! I trusted you with the person closest to my heart! And what did you do? You stole her away from me!"

"She was never yours!" Gabriel retorted. "Carissa was a person, not property! She told me on that night that you were her friend, and only her friend. If you had stuck around for any of it, you would have realized that. You were here dearest friend, Alastair, and you tossed her away when she didn't return your feelings. If you had been any sort of friend to her, you would have supported her choice.

"She made her choice, just as I did. You're strong Alastair, you would have moved past it. I'm certain my son, her son, would have adored his Uncle Alastair." Gabriel clenched his fists, his anger building. "But you threw it all away because it wasn't perfect for you!"

"Enough of this foolishness," Alastair growled. "Nooroo," the kwami reluctantly flew from his master's coat pocket. "Dark wings, rise!" The butterflies returned to congregate upon him, covering every inch of Alastair. In a flash of dark magic, the butterflies dispersed to reveal Hawk Moth, trembling with hatred. The super-villain clapped his cane upon the concrete of the roof, a butterfly-shaped mask of light appearing around his eyes. "Come now!" he shouted.

Gabriel flinched at a deep roar that echoed above them. A figure hung in the sky, suspended by massive wings, and plummeted toward them to land with a resounding crash! Gabriel shielded his eyes from the dust; when the cloud settled, even he couldn't help the twinge of fear that pooled in his gut.

Before him, standing behind Hawk Moth, was a massive violet dragon! Easily the size of Stoneheart at his worst, the creature growled at Gabriel, its sulfurous yellow eyes burning with hate. The silvery scales around said eyes, in the rough shape of a butterfly, marked the monster without a doubt as an akuma.

For the briefest moment, Gabriel regretted ever conceiving the idea of this meeting; then he forcefully brushed the regret aside. This would have happened one way or another. Alastair had always been smart, if not always tactical (as evidenced by the mountains of mistakes he had made in his "crusade"), and it was clear that he would have prepared for this meeting. After a handful of moment to savor the moment, Hawk Moth grinned savagely.

"Firedrake - destroy him," Hawk Moth ordered. The dragon snarled, presumably in avid agreement, and threw its head back; the akuma's torso and elongated neck spasmed as if it were preparing to vomit. It didn't take a genius to realize what was about to happen. And Gabriel actually was a genius. He had come prepared as well!

"Dussu, fan out!"

* * *

Chat Noir vaulted over the rooftops of Paris, pursuing his Lady as she led the way. Generally, the duo split up to do their patrols, only meeting before and after for greetings and reports. But recently they had agreed to do some of them together. It was better for morale.

After several rooftops, Ladybug halted, gently panting under the silvery light of the full moon. Chat swallowed thickly as he felt the color rise in his half-covered cheeks. He couldn't help it; she was just so beautiful. Especially when she wasn't trying.

"Well," Chat said to break the silence, "I think that's most of the city. I'd say we can call this a-" A fearsome roar echoed through the Parisian sky. Ladybug glanced at him with a wry look.

"Call it a what, Kitty?" she grinned before resuming their sprint toward the source of the noise, toward the large dark shape that had plunged and landed actually fairly close. Chat Noir shrugged and followed just as quickly. It was a few mere moments before the pair landed on a rooftop to find a huge dragon, similar and yet so different from the akumatized Fang, standing on the adjacent roof. A dark figure stood in front of the dragon, facing another man in light clothing.

Chat gasped in recognition and flicked up the phone feature of his staff. He zoomed in, confirming his instinct. That man in white was his father! Wait, what?! Why was his father out here on a dirty rooftop and not working!

Chat ears twitched as a frighteningly familiar voice uttered three simple, terrifying words. "Firedrake - destroy him!" The dragon, clearly an akuma threw it head back. It was going to do it!

"No!" Chat shouted as he leapt for the rooftop. He had to shield his father, take the flames himself! The dragon unleashed its fury, bathing his father in hellish orange fire. Fire that almost obscured the burst of blue light that flashed around the man.

Chat stumbled a roll and stood to his feet to find ... something unthinkable.

* * *

Where Gabriel Agreste had stood was a figure in blue, shielded from the flames by a huge peacock-themed war fan. The figure, the superhero, flicked the fan to his side and, after a split second to focus the magic of his transformation, swung his gunbai with all of his enhanced strength. A gale-force wind emanated from the fan, knocking Hawk Moth back and catching the massive akuma's wings to send it sliding with a surprised cry off the roof.

Hawk Moth leapt to his feet with feral snarl, his gaze fixed on his newly-empowered brother.

Gabriel's uniform was focused around a sapphire knee-length trenchcoat with alternating jade peacock-feather designs stretching from the belt to the bottom. The buttons lining the torso of the coat were red and blue, styled after the eyespots of a peacock train. The epaulettes and sleeve straps were jade to match the peacock accents. White leather gloves covered his hands, the first two fingers and thumb of each embellished with razor-sharp golden claws. Pale red pants and black boots complemented the coat. And across his eyes was a large sapphire domino mask with a red third eye in the center of the forehead, shaped like a bird's wings that stretched to his cheekbones, his eyes now a fierce vermillion and his hair tinted red.

But it was the animalistic grimace that stretched across Gabriel's face made him utterly unrecognisable.

"You dare use her Miraculous against me!" Hawk Moth roared. Gabriel flicked his war fan closed and, like a baseball bat, slammed it onto the rooftop. The force of the display of strength pushed Hawk Moth back half a step.

"I honor my wife's legacy," he replied. "By stopping you." The words were clipped and the tone tight, as if he were restraining some great emotion. The light-mask appeared around Hawk Moth's eyes as he urged his akuma, Firedrake, to return. Loud crashes heralded the draconic akuma's arrival as he climbed up the building, snarling at the sight of the transformed Gabriel.

The dragon's cry was cut short as something small and dense struck him across the face, bouncing back to a waiting clawed hand. Chat Noir glanced at his father, the man trembling with suppressed emotion and utterly unrecognizable. The whirring of metallic wire snapped him out of his trance as Ladybug swung across the open air to deliver a blistering kick to the side of Firedrake's head, knocking more of the akuma's fiery breath off course.

With a fearsome cry, Gabriel darted forward, gliding across the concrete to deliver a spinning strike to the back of Firedrake's front knee, knocking the dragon off-balance. With no wasted movement, he leapt and swung his fan at the base of the dragon's neck, drawing a pained yowl.

Gabriel panted harshly, adrenaline flooding his body. And even through all of that, through so much that he was unaccustomed to, he still bared a feral grin. Carissa had described to him the freeing nature of the mask; that it allowed one to act in a way they felt they couldn't at any other time. Transformed, shedding the prestige and stoicism of Gabriel Agreste, he could finally act on that which he had been ignoring for well over a year: his anger.

A furious battle cry drove him from his musings. Hawk Moth fell toward him, cane separated into a thin sword and the sheathe acting as a baton. Gabriel ducked under Hawk Moth's first swing and blocked the second with his war fan. On instinct, he separated his fan into two smaller handheld forms, dual tessen, flicking them closed for close combat.

Hawk Moth paid no heed to his brother's weapons as he hacked and slashed at the Peacock hero, his body acting on the intuition of the transformation. Both men semi-registered the sounds and trembles of the battle going on around them, of Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting off Firedrake. But their main focus was on each other.

After one of his slashes was parried and reflected by Gabriel, Hawk Moth jumped back to reassess his situation. He bared his sword and baton as he tried to catch his breath, his stamina rapidly dwindling. The Butterfly was quick and agile, but had little in the way of strength or stamina. Truly, it was the Miraculous least-suited for open combat, even more than the Turtle; while the Butterfly definately could fight, its true strength was in strategizing and direction.

But the Peacock was a fighter. Its claws, its weapons, its tail; these were weapons meant for confrontation. And Gabriel had clearly taken to the combative side of the Pin. Hawk Moth, using the empathic powers of the Butterfly, could feel Gabriel embracing that side of himself. He could feel the mask peeling away the cool indifference that was Gabriel Agreste to reveal the buried fury of a berserker.

Hoping to throw off the Peacock, Hawk Moth lunged with his baton to clash against Gabriel's war fans. With a flick of his wrist, he locked one fan into place and swung with his sword, only to be blocked by the other as Gabriel locked his sword in place with the same maneuver.

Both men growled as they pushed against each other, their duel devolved into a contest of strength. The ground shook beneath their feet as the akuma continued to fight against the other heroes, but neither cared. A battle of wills raged between their crushing glares as they struggled to push each other back.

Realizing the stalemate, Gabriel played his trump card, shouting "Heaven's Sight!" to activate his unique power. His eyes began to glow scarlet and the third eye on his mask turned gold.

Gabriel gasped in surprise as everything around him focused into razor-sharp clarity. The darkness of the night became like daylight, the colors around him more vibrant. The tiniest of details couldn't escape his notice, the ground and walls around him became clear as colored glass. He saw the life forces like colored clouds beneath the skin of the Chosen around him, their Miraculouses glowing like stars in red, green, and purple. And on Firedrake's claw, he noticed a gold ring blackened by Hawk Moth's akuma.

"Chat Noir, the ring on its finger!" Gabriel shouted before forcing himself backward and down. Hawk Moth yelped in surprise as Gabriel pulled him forward and flipped him over to land on his back with a dull thud. Gabriel spun to his feet, his body acting on its own, and snapped his tessen together to reform his gunbai. He flicked it open ducked behind it as a shield to block Hawk Moth's retaliating slashes.

As Gabriel held off Hawk Moth, Chat's enhanced eyes noticed the glimmer on Firedrake's claw. A quick look to Ladybug was all it took to form a plan. "Lucky charm!" she shouted, tossing her yoyo into the air to create … a package of fish? No, wait, that was-!

Ladybug ripped open the red-and-black plastic to reveal a long, thick smoked eel. "What am I-?" Chat Noir snatched the eel and leapt for Firedrake with it wrapped around his fist. Nostrils flaring, Firedrake screeched and fell backwards to avoid the eel. Just like in that movie, Chat thought smugly. As he distracted the draconic akuma, Ladybug struck out with her yoyo to bind its legs and send it toppling to the ground.

Ladybug pried the ring off of Firedrake's claw and crushed it beneath her heel, releasing the exhausted purple-black butterfly that immediately tried to escape. With an open compact, a few spins for momentum and a flick of her wrist, Ladybug captured the akuma and released it from the cleansing light of her yoyo. Chat tossed her the eel and with a cry of "Miraculous Ladybug!" a swarm of glowing ladybugs exploded and reformed everything around them.

Hawk Moth, upon the cleansing of his akuma, hissed and pulled back from his assault on Gabriel's fan. He clutched his head, the now-familiar cold headache slicing through his skull. The feeling that always left him particularly furious after an akuma's defeat.

Gabriel's war cry broke him from his stupor and, with all the strength he could muster, he jumped and took to the air. Before three magical weapons could enclose him, a swarm of white butterflies swarmed around him, scattering to reveal empty air before they too scattered into the night.

Chat Noir hissed in frustration at the super villain's escape. The first time he had shown himself in the flesh and they had failed. He shook that off as he met Ladybug's fist with his own. "Pound it!" the chorused, like always. And as one, they turned to admire the new hero.

"Who are you?" Ladybug asked. Wait, had she not seen his father transform into his hero?! On second thought, that might not be such a bad thing. Ladybug had, in the few snippets he had gathered over their partnership, showed an interest in fashion. Perhaps it was best that she didn't know their was a modern fashion legend standing before them.

The Peacock hero paused in thought before nodding to himself. "Phoenix Bleu," he replied evenly. Carissa had been the previous Peacock. She had disappeared, and while he still held out the faintest hope that she would be found (given the tram of private investigators he had on the case) he had, for better or worse, risen from the ashes of that tragedy. He was, in many ways, a blue phoenix.

A sharp beep cut through the heroes' stunned silence as the third of five feathers on the Pin at his lapel flickered from green to white, leaving the center and inner-right. Phoenix Bleu nodded curtly and broke his gunbai into the tessen, which he clipped to his belt before leaping away and leaving Paris's heroes to watch in respective awe and confusion. It was only the confused groans of the akumatized victim, a rival of Gabriel's who had been beaten in sales, that broke Ladybug from her stupor and Chat Noir with her.

The newly-christened Phoenix Bleu made it back to his office with only seconds to spare, the magic of the Peacock peeling away as he settled into his desk chair. The peacock kwami, Duusu, collapsed onto his desk with a dramatically hearty sigh. Gabriel gave a faint chuckle before retrieving a glass of fruit juice, which Duusu squealed at before eagerly lifting it with surprising strength and chugging it down.

After the few seconds it took for Duusu to finish her juice, she fixed Gabriel with a narrowed red eyes. "So, 'L', what're you gonna tell your kiddo?" Gabriel's lips tightened at the nickname, the nickname his brother had given him, but let it pass. Even with Carissa, Duusu had had little regard for one's real name. She claimed a nickname was more "personal" or "descriptive".

"You're assuming he knew for certain it was me on that roof," Gabriel pointed out. He wasn't a fool; he knew his son was quite intelligent. But there was always the chance he hadn't noticed. Duusu's boisterous laugh dissolved those hopes.

"You may get all 'super focused' and tune everything else out, but I heard him scream 'Nooooooo!'," she even zipped into the air and spun like a downed plane, "before I got pulled into the Pin. Trust me, L. He knows." And she said it all with that infuriatingly smug grin.

Gabriel sighed in frustration. He had hoped to finish off Hawk Moth in this single encounter and retire his heroics as soon as it was done. That way, he wouldn't have had to deal with any of it. But, then again, irony seemed to permeate all things if one was open-minded enough to see it.

And a father taking up his wife's heroic mantle to fight alongside his son, especially begrudgingly, was an epitome of dramatic irony.

As if the universe were replying to his inner monologue, a light knock sounded at Gabriel's door. Nathalie had gone home hours ago, so there was only one person who would dare interrupt him.

"Enter," Gabriel called. Better to face it now than to lie to his son's face. Duusu grinned before hiding in his coat pocket. It was a Chosen's job to reveal themselves; the ancient rules prevented kwami from doing so.

Adrien poked his head in, head bowed in respect. "Father, I know what happened tonight," he said with unusual determination. Gabriel's hands clenched behind his back in preparation. A small, illogical part of him hoped for some insane, totally-wrong explanation, but it was quite a small part. Adrien looked up and straight into his father's eyes.

"I know you are Phoenix Bleu." No hesitation, no waver, no doubt. Just unflinching conviction. Gabriel sighed through his nose and patted his breast pocket, prompting Duusu to emerge.

"And while we're putting all our cards on the table, son," he pointed out, "I know that you are Chat Noir." Adrien paled at those words, even as he had imagined his father speaking them more times than he could count after Jackaday. But, to be fair, he could never have imagined this turn of events. Adrien held open his shirt, allowing Plagg to emerge as well and greet Duusu. The kwami zipped off to have their own sort of reunion (as much as a lazy cat and a vain peacock, both rather arrogant, could have a meaningful reunion), leaving father and son to stare at each other.

Gabriel walked around his desk and turned the two chairs before it to face each other. He sat in one and gestured for Adrien to sit in the other. The model did as he was requested and looked his father in the eyes, demanding no lies or half-truths.

"It seems we have much to discuss," Gabriel commented.

"Yes. Yes we do," Adrien agreed.

 **"Heaven's Sight" is my version of the Peacock's special ability, like Ladybug's "Lucky Charm" or Chat Noir's "Cataclysm". Peacocks are associated, among many things, with true sight (sometimes even God's all-seeing eyes) due to the eye-like appearance of their feather-markings. Their feathers could also be seen as the Vault of the Sky and the planets and stars that dot it. "Heaven's Sight" is like a mild combination of the Sharingan and Byakugan (see all details, focus on things, far-sight, see-through vision; NO 360 degree vision!). And it can See the object where an akuma resides without fail.**

 **Codex Mirabilis: A codex is an ancient manuscript used to describe things, such as medicines, chemicals, etc. "Mirabilis" is Latin for "Miraculous". (Clever, I know!) *Note: In regards to the "artifact" to break the book's code, I'm using a head-canon from writer "Mythril Moth" that the book is protected by an illusion connected to the Fox Pendant. The Pendant could unravel it, according to him. For me, the Peacock Pin could be used to see through it. (But Dusuu was being uncooperative).**

 **The fight scenes in this fic were inspired by the climax of "Batman vs Superman". Read it again and you'll see it. I wrote the action while listening to that utterly epic music.**

 **Hope you all liked this! Leave a review; I could always use feedback on my one-shots!**


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